Herman became afternoon host starting September 2015 at News-Talk KTTH in Seattle when Ben Shapiro left the slot open due to family reasons. Shapiro departed to care for his infant daughter recovering from open heart surgery. He had worked as fill-in host on both KIRO Radio, part of the CBS television affiliate in Seattle and sister-station to KTTH, and the nationally-syndicated Rush Limbaugh Show. Program director Jason Antebi said of Herman at the time, “Todd is a highly engaging storyteller; it’s something you learn the first moment he cracks open the mic. Todd will also be a tremendous brand ambassador: he doesn’t just understand the KTTH mission; he lives it.” Herman said of the promotion, "Talk radio was my first love in media and joining AM 770 KTTH is literally something of which I've dreamed. To work with David Boze and Michael Medved on Seattle's conservative talk radio station is an honor matched only by the kind words I have received from KTTH listeners." In January 2019 Herman became part of “The Candy, Mike and Todd Show”, the "troika" replacing the "long-running" "Ron and Don Show" in the 3-7pm slot at KIRO. Candy Harper had most recently served as the afternoon producer on KIRO Radio while Mike Lewis, a former reporter with Seattle Post-Intelligencer, had worked as a reporter and fill-in host at KIRO. The station promised Candy, Mike, and Todd would be "a fun, entertaining and intelligent trio.” Herman moved from KIRO to it’s conservative talk station 770 KTTH to host the morning drive in March 2020, replacing "morning personality" Saul Spady. Program director Mike Salk said of the change, “There is no one with more passion for his beliefs than Todd. He connects with his audience and creates a lasting bond. We’re thrilled to return his energy to our Northwest listeners.” The “Candy, Mike and Todd” show he's joined in January of 2019 had "lasted just a year." Herman coined the term “Antifastan” for the CHAZ "autonomous neighborhood" in downtown Seattle established during the 2020 George Floyd protests. After Randy Fischer of the Americans for Fair Taxation called into "The Rush Limbaugh Show" while Herman was guest hosting, the organization's website declared: "Great news! Todd is a solid FAIRtax-er!" Herman fills in regularly as Rush Limbaugh's guest host.
Business
Herman co-founded Crowdverb in 2010, a social media monitoring startup, running it from out of Seattle, Austin, and Washington D.C. until 2012. The firm, which made use of Big Data "to inform communications plans and persuasion strategies for clients," was later acquired by WPP. He served as chief digital strategist for the Republican National Committee from March 2009 to January 2011, his efforts being praised by Mother Jones magazine. Herman was founder an chief creative officer for SpinSpotter from December 2007 to April 2009 in Seattle. The venture capital backed start-up provided a software and social media system for spotting bias in news reports, discouraging media away from reliance on the “Seven Deadly Spins” of journalism: personal voice, passive voice, biased sources, disregarded context, selective disclosure, lack of balance, and dependence on news releases. The company evolved into SparkWords, a social media debate platform for major brands to start conservations around topics that lead to conversion to sales. At Microsoft, from September 2005 to September 2007, Herman served as general manager of media strategy an monetization, helping start the MSN video business unit in Redmond, Washington. As founder and CEO of theDial from January 1997 to August 2000 in Seattle and Salt Lake City, Herman developed the first internet radio network. theDial introduced major brand marketers and agencies – e.g., those for AvenueA, P&G, Microsoft, Universal McCann, and H&R Block – to internet radio advertising.
Stations
KIRO: Seattle, WA fill-in
KTTH: Seattle, WA
Personal
Herman, a "lifetime Washingtonian", lives in the Seattle area. He has a daughter. Herman has on the Prince of Peace Lutheran Church Leadership Committee. He considers himself a "college dropout".
